Obituaries

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Star of film, stage and TV, actor Alan Rickman, an acting veteran of dozens of films, has died at the age of 69. Rickman possibly best know for portraying the complicated villain Severus Snape in the films based on J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books.

Before succumbing Rickman had been fighting cancer.

Rickman appeared in an array of blockbuster films throughout his prolific career, from 1988’s Die Hard with Bruce Willis to 2003’s Love Actually and the Harry Potter films.

Author of the Harry Potter books, JK Rowling, said: “There are no words to express how shocked and devastated I am to hear of Alan Rickman’s death. He was a magnificent actor & a wonderful man”.

The actor met his wife, Rima Horton, when they were teenagers. Rima later became an economics lecturer as well as a British Labor party counselor. In 2012, the two married, having been committed lovers since 1965.